DEVELOPMENT WAR TO RESUME.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

A brief lull in the storm over the Hidden Creek Ranch project will be breaking in a court battle Nov. 17.

Meanwhile, there have been some quiet days in the developer's campaign launched last summer with an attempt to quash a petition drive for a referendum against its 3,221-home development.

Then a second phase to garner public support culminated last week with newspaper ads and brochures delivered to Moorpark residents just before they went to the polls Tuesday.

The company's lawyer said the campaign blitz was an effort to clear the developer's name of mud slung during the election campaign.

``There were a couple of candidates who ran on an anti-ranch platform, and those candidates pointed fingers at other candidates saying they supported Hidden Creek,'' said Glen Reiser, an attorney for Messenger Investment Co. ``But there wasn't that much factual information to the public at large about the project.''

But opponents of the development, including Clint Harper, who won a seat on the council in unofficial returns, said they dealt with facts in their campaign.

``There was zero misinformation,'' Councilman-elect Harper, a longtime opponent of the project, said about his campaign. ``I challenge them to point out any misinformation. . . . There was no fabrication on the side of the opponents, but a real stretching of the facts on their side.''

Although the project faces a referendum on a Jan. 12 special election ballot, the developer has stopped campaigning in hope the measure will be taken off the ballot.

``We hope to prevail,'' Reiser said about the legal challenge to the referendum. ``And if we're successful, there's not going to be a need to provide a massive education to the public. If we're not (successful), we're going to have to start again.''

The literature sent out by the developer last week touts preservation of much open space in the project, funding of a bypass of Highway 118, and the revenue and recreation that would be provided.

The brochures include a toll-free number that people can call to get more information.

Jeff Gordon, senior vice president of the company, answered the line on a recent evening and said calls that have come in have been positive or neutral, though some callers have criticized the developer's plans.

``They're looking for more information about the project because this is the first time they've seen things in print that we've put out,'' he said. ``They ask questions about the timing, what's going on, and quite frankly when a house is going to be for sale.''

But Harper said he believes voters are savvy and few will be moved by the brochure's glossy paper and colorful words.

``If they spend enough money it will influence some votes,'' he said. ``But I think they'll have to spend a lot of money.''

To date, the company raised more than $155,500 - most of it from Beverly Hills developer Shappell Industries Inc. - to campaign.

The opposition reported spending about $1,200 on its campaign.

Reiser said he is unsure how much the company plans to spend in all.

``The purpose of all the spending is not to enflame, but to educate,'' he said. ``Whatever monies are necessary to educate the voters, those monies will be spent.''

Despite a threat of legal action from the developer, city officials said the petitioners had collected enough signatures for a special election Jan. 12 that could void the Moorpark City Council's approval of the development agreement with Messenger and the zoning amendment that makes the project possible.

But soon after the council's action, Messenger filed a lawsuit claiming the petitions were legally faulty.

Reiser claimed the information contained in them was not a complete version of what the city council approved, and he cited other issues.

Council members who voted for the project said the developer's efforts to save it are understandable, but they would not predict the outcome.

``They certainly were able to highlight the positives when they were presenting it to the council,'' said Councilman Chris Evans, one of three members who voted to approve the project. ``But I hope that from this place forward, their communication to the public is handled a little better. Their first time out, they didn't do a very good job.''

During the campaign in September, petition gatherers claimed that workers for a committee controlled by Messenger used scare tactics and intimidation against them.

``They realized they used the wrong tactics, and it backfired on them,'' Harper said.

Reiser said there was never any intention to intimidate the petition gatherers but to counter the information they were giving out.

``My understanding is that the people who wanted signatures were unhappy that their claims were being contradicted or debated in the strip malls around Moorpark,'' he said.